Cardinal Sodano Speaks Up for Values

Presents a Book on Ethics

March 19, 2007
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ROME, MARCH 19, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Cardinal Angelo Sodano expressed his hope that new generations of university students would be taught the "fundamental values of life."

The dean of the College of Cardinals said this during the presentation of a book dedicated to the ethics of information, which gathers the conclusions of an international convention last May held at the Pontifical Gregorian University.

"Etica dell'informazione nelle relazioni internazionali" (The Ethics of Information in International Relations) includes an essay by Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

Cardinal Sodano said that "to speak about ethics in today's world is rather difficult" and it's good to see a book dedicated to "the fundamental values of coexistence."

Recalling Pope John Paul II's words in 1995 at the United Nations, Cardinal Sodano repeated that to "understand one another, we must accept the universal law written by God in the heart of the human being as a common basis."

The former Vatican secretary of state criticized the "attempts to erode fundamental values," above all with an ethical relativism based on a reinterpretation of values according to personal preferences.

The book serves as a tribute to Giuseppe Vedovato, retired professor of La Sapienza University in Rome and an Italian politician from 1953 to 2005. He is also honorary president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the European Council.

On behalf of Cardinal Martino, Bishop Giampaolo Crepaldi, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, presented a medal to the senator for his efforts in the field of peace and human rights.